RCGP sets out priorities for new Prime Minister

Helen Stokes-Lampard has written to the new Prime Minister urging him to safeguard general practice and protect the NHS and patient care by ruling out a no-deal Brexit.

In her letter, Stokes-Lampard also highlights the college's concerns around the negative impact a no-deal Brexit will have on the sustainability of the NHS, and the care patients receive, saying that a no-deal Brexit ‘could hamper the recruitment and retention of vitally needed NHS staff’, emphasising that there are 'serious concerns' around patients' access to medicines, devices and radioisotopes.

The chair of the Royal College of GPs has also called on Boris Johnson to deliver on previous government commitments to recruit 5,000 more GPs, and take action to retain existing family doctors in the profession, so that patients can get a GP appointment when they need one.

The letter also addressed the issue of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and other so-called 'sin taxes'.

She wrote: “We are facing great uncertainty as a society, something that is causing huge amounts of anxiety amongst GPs, other healthcare professionals and our patients as we face the bleak prospect of a no-deal Brexit, and the adverse impact it will have on our NHS.

"But one thing that is certain is that we are already in the middle of an obesity crisis, which is putting both our patients' health at significant risk and the health service under incredible pressure. It is therefore vital that the new Prime Minister and his government keep prevention at the heart of the health policy agenda.

"The college is deeply concerned that Mr Johnson has previously called into question the effectiveness of the sugar tax - and other so-called 'sin taxes' - and our concern has been heightened by the publication of the prevention paper this week that seems to abandon an extension of the sugar tax to milk-based drinks and sets out no clear plans to reverse cuts to public health services.This all falls far short of what is required to make lasting and significant change, and we fear that initiatives that we have previously welcomed are being watered down or simply withdrawn.

"It is a fact that our patients are exposed to unhealthy lifestyle habits daily – smoking and drinking in soap operas and dramas on our TV screens, advertising for unhealthy diet options and unrealistic expectations of body image on social media. We need to see the government taking more action, not less, to tackle 'un-healthiness' in our society, which is already putting immense strain on our NHS.

"Initiatives, such as the sugar levy, have received a huge amount of support from health experts across the health service - and evidence shows that they work. Rolling them back will almost certainly have a devasting impact on public health in the long term – potentially affecting millions of patients."